For this inaugural installment of collaboration brews, we invited distinguished Belgian brewer Jean-Marie Rock to join our own Steven Pauwels for a zymological alliance. The two conspired to revive a recipe from the very beginning of Rock’s career, the memory of which he has cherished for more than 30 years. A starkly simple recipe combined with a painstakingly complex brewing process produce an Imperial Pilsner of subtle elegance and delicately balanced contrasts. First wort hopping, a very old technique in which hops normally added late in the boil are put in at the beginning, and allowed to steep for a much longer time, gives the beer an especially refined hop aroma and flavor. The 100% Pilsner malt makes a clear, yet restrained statement, answered by a stead, harmonious chorus of Saaz hop bitterness, echoes of which linger in the dry, crisp finish.

I actually gave this beer as a gift to a buddy of mine while I was there visiting, but I never got to try it. I finally decided to give it a shot, so here we go:

Appearance: Pours a very slightly hazy yellow gold color with a solid 1" head of fluffy white bubbles. The head was every bit of half-height well over a minute after the pour. There are numerous bubbles rising to maintain the head. The resulting head that is lasting forever on top of the beer is about 1/4" and ended up being really creamy looking.

Aroma: I initially got a healthy dose of noble hops, mostly Saaz, and a bunch of toasty Pilsner malt notes. It smells like a malty Pilsner with the volume turned up, which I would expect. After the beer has sat for a bit, there is a mild wheaty edge coming out, which, I wonder, if that is where the haze is coming from.

Taste: The flavor is also balanced with plenty of European ingredients. The hops are the first thing you notice with the spicy Saaz being the more predominant member. There is a lot of malt in this beer, and it is coming out with some sweet toasty notes and a very subtle light caramel. The finish is led by the hops, but the malt isn't far behind. The beer is pretty well attenuated for being as big as it is. The carbonation is adequate to maybe slightly high, which is good for this beer. There is some dryness left on the back of the throat from the hops and attenuation, but there is also an evident alcoholic warming that sets in late after the sip and stays on the palate for quite some time after the sip.

Opinion: Overall this is a pretty darn good beer. It comes across just as what it claims to be, an Imperial Pilsner. I personally brew this style quite a bit, but mine are more like MaiBocks. This has the hop profile of a Pilsner beer and that is unmistakable. I wouldn't say that this is the best beer that I have ever had before, but it is definitely a good one and I would recommend it and wouldn't mind drinking it again sometime.

A: At first this pours a crystal clear golden color, but as the yeast churns up the liquid because more cloudy and opaque. A billowing egg-shell white head frothed up with the pour and took some time to fade into a rocky layer that left streaks of chunky lacing down the glass.S: I get notes of pepper and spicy hops with hints of yeast, grass and lemon. T: Sweet notes of candied lemon, pilsner malt, bread crust, spicy pepper and grassy Saaz hops. Aftertaste has a touch of bitterness from the hops. M: Medium body with tingly carbonation. Not as clean as it could be, but still refreshing. O: I'm drinking this beer with a grain of salt (not literally) since it's a couple months old, but it's still quite good and refreshing. Fresh I'm sure this would be amazing, and I would drink it again. Thanks again roosevelt25 for hooking it up!

A: Golden ale with hazy clarity. Multi finger head of thick, meringue like head falls to the same within minutes in a thick quilt. Good lacing. Better clarity preferred for this one.

S: Nice floral quality to this. sure, grain, hints of noble hops, earthy with barely a hint of discernible alcohol. The floral character is akin to gardenia's and tulips. Nice, and not too strong.

T: Sweet, backbone of fermented malt. The yeast comes through here well, with a good straw and sheet grass character. Very subtle profiles here. ABV well hidden. The earliest cardboard oxidation at the finish line.

M: Medium to full body for the style. Medium-low carb for the style. Slight pinch on the tongue and leaves slight polish on the palate.

O: Quite well crafted. Impy Pilsner isn't something you come across too frequently in the beer world, and quite a few examples abandon the hop profile of a traditional pilsner, this one does good. Cheers Blvd!

A big thanks to my friend Gavin for sending this to me in our most recent trade. I have no access to Boulevard so it is always a pleasure to receive them via trade. Very excited for this, so I quickly chilled and poured into a chalice.

A: After a struggle to remove the cork, a nice pop yields a nice hazy golden beer when poured. A nice two finger, creamy head envelopes the inside of the glass. Very creamy, long lasting, and awesome lacing. The body glows with its yellow hues and the head, with its lacing and creaminess, is near perfect.

S: Massive Saaz and varieties of German hops. Awesome German hop skunk mixed with some sour/musty/skunky cereal grains. Very peppery and skunky with some basic cereal grains. Very awesome.

T: Very nice and creamy with a basic German Pilsner malt taste with the skunk and bitter grass hops that are noticed in the scent. For 8 ABV, this drinks like it is 6, with absolutely no alcohol noticeable.

Overall, this is a great beer. Very flavorful for a pilsner, with an awesome Saaz and German hop background.

Bottle picked up at City Wide in Mishawaka, IN. Served in a Bruery tulip.

Pour yields a very light yellow-to-straw-colored brew with a good bone-white head and a good deal of lacing. The nose brings forward some light herbal and earthy hops and a bit of spice. Mild bready yeast character there as well. The taste is mostly grain with some slight hops and a bit of bread. Noble hops in the finish, which is quite dry. Light body and good carbonation. There is also a bit of hay and straw toward the tail end. Really enjoy the dry finish. A bit pricey for what it is, but I'd certainly drink it again.

The beer appears slightly hazy and pale yellow in color. The head stands in at around half an inch thick and leaves a fair amount of lacing behind.

The aroma is of floral, citrus, with some light grassy notes.

Well balanced and pretty tasty. The hop component is definitely there, but not overly assertive. A subtle grassy character adds a nice touch of complexity to the beer. Overall, a simple beer and less daring than I was hoping / expecting from an international collaborative effort.

750mL bottle purchased in Houston for about $15 after tax. The label states it was made in 2-2009, best by September 2010. So I'm drinking it a little ripe, but it's worth the risk as this is a collaboration between 2 great breweries, Boulevard and Orval!

This pours a cloudy and murky pale golden color, with an initially thick head that recedes to a thin ring. The all pilsner malt construction leads to strong yeast and hops aromas, grassy and honey-like, with pear/apple fruit character.

These lead to the flavor, the fruity esters are a little similar to some of the lighter Unibroue beers, very yeasty, much more Belgian in character than Czech or German. Except for the Saaz hops, which lend their grassy flavors in a big way, second only to the yeast.

Medium carbonation and heavy bodied for a pilsner, not as easy drinking as most pilsners as the 8% ABV is evident in the body. Great stuff though.

Pours a slightly hazy straw yellow with a strong billowy white head which fades to clumpy lace and stringers. Smell is meaty malt and bready yeast with cracked pepper, grass, and floral qualities. Taste is a brightly malt/yeast body with lingering pepper and dry flower finish. Mouthfeel is crisp and refreshing. Started out thinking this wouldn't be very interesting, boy was I mistaken. Enjoyed and would certainly like to enjoy again and again.

Appearance: A hazy, golden-straw body capped by three fingers of fluffy white head that burns off slowly but leaves patchy lacing.

Aroma: Lots of leafy, herbal, and spicy hops and peppery phenols over quiet pale malt body. Just a hint of alcohol around the edges as it warms. Reminiscent of a Belgian Pale so far.

Flavor: Up front, lots of typical noble hop flavors and moderate bitterness along with a very Belgian pepper and yeast combination. Underneath, the malt is more prominent than in the nose and grounds everything a little better. The malt is pale and cereal-grainy in character. Just a bit of spice from the booze as it warms. This has excellent balance, as you'd expect from the master. Cereal grains and leafy hops in the finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with prickly carbonation and a balanced finish.

Drinkability: This goes back quite easily, so keep the moderately-high alcohol content in mind.

Verdict: Much closer to a Belgian Pale Ale or Strong Golden Ale than anything related to a Pilsener, this is about what I expected from Jean-Marie. Balanced perfectly, tasty throughout, and criminally drinkable, this is something I'd come back to often if it was in regular production.

This is a golden yellow colored liquid with a slight hint of burnt orange tinting and a touch of haziness. The three-finger head of bone-white colored foam is thick and dense, hanging around for a decent amount of time. It recedes to about a 1/4 of an inch and stays through the rest of the glass. The lacing is fair, but pretty sticky.

Light bread-y malt notes. Nice belgian yeast notes, more citrus-like than banana. Hints of lemongrass, along with touches of honey and citrus sweetness. A mild spiciness, like white pepper.

This is medium-bodied and has a high level of carbonation, yet maintains a touch of creaminess, somehow. I like a big-bodied beer, but am surprised to find it in a pilsner. Interesting.

The 8.00%abv is kept in the background, quite nicely. As is the case with the pilsner style, this is crisp and easy-drinking.Beyond that, it's fanatstic, as far as fizzy yellow beers go (which is how I view most pilsners). It's just not for me.While they have certainly made something much more nuanced than most of the representatives of the style, I really expected something MORE from this collaboration.Before drinking it, I thought that this might be the pilsner to win me over. Not so much. I'll keep trying though. Perhaps My Antonia will be the one...

[NOTE: As always, I try to rate to style, as much as possible. Therefore, sometimes my scores seem like I've enjoyed a certain beer, but I'm fairly certain that I won't be in a hurry to taste it again. This is definitely one of those beers.]

76th review on BABottle to GobletCorked and Caged 750 MLBatch 1/2009Best by 9/10

A BIG thanks to JeepCop for this one!

App- A straw colored yellow with a nice single finger head that left such a wonderful lace. Quite bubbly into my chimay goblet. Very nice.

Smell- I don't smell a pilsner at all. Instead I smell a belgian yeast strain that makes me very giddy. I get some fresh banana and some more citrus as well.

Taste- I get nothing of a traditional Pils, which I came to expect being a collaboration with Orval. Its so much more complex than I would have thought. The basic flavors of a pils are blended to make one great beer here.

Mouth- It's crisp, complex and big drinking IMO. It was a bit dry but was still a good beer.

Drink- A wonderul celebrational beer. If you can get your hands on one. YOU SHOULD!!!

A 750ml caged/corked brown bottle - a much appreciated gift from a local bottle shop owner last summer. Maybe should have enjoyed it a little earlier (see batch below), but I'll take my chances, trusting the 'Imperial' nature of the recipe and the generally dark and cool cellaring. Poured toa pair of tall pilsner glasses and split with my wife over an incredible dinner of spiced soba noodles, shiitakes and seared hanger steak she (and I, the sous chef) whipped up.

A: Uncorks with a soft pop (good start) and pours a milky golden, haziness failing to obscure a bounty of boisterous bubbliness. Immaculate head, a thick 4-finger tower of snow-whiteness, standing firm then gradually dropping over 10 minutes to a dimpled veil (hmmm...Orval? great head? shocking!!!). Lace is flecks and pinpricks, vaguely clustering into pseudo-rings but vanishing in due time.

S: Malty nose, the requisite Saaz hops and huge Pilsner toastedness. Lemon spray and herbalness like verbena. In strength, the 'Imperialness' bursts from the glass ~ very impressive.

T: A dried hay/grassy maltiness, big and fruity, resplendent with spices. Biscuits meet with a subtle pear and a not-so-subtle apple (like dutch applesauce, even apple butter...). A yeastiness that's kind 'witbier-like', drying and pepper-dusted, lingering after each sip.

M: Not as thick nor as sticky as I'd expected. Crisp mouth and dry and clean(er) finish; in between, a refined carbonation on the creamier side. Fine grainy coating, but (again) still not what I call 'sticky' at all.

D: 8%? No seriously, EIGHT PERCENT? I do not believe you. Well maybe I do, a toasty and engaging warmth snuggles in on a brisk fall evening. A definite winner for the both of us, an exquisite pairing with our dish and A MUST for a repeat performance. By far the best I've tried of the style.

A- This beer is gorgeous. Its a very bright, shining yellow. Only a moderate amount of haze. The head, in typical BLVD fashion, is huge, billowy and white. Some lacing but a little more stickiness would earn this a 5.

S- The smell is as equally lively and bright. Once the cork is popped aromas come creeping out. Lots of lemon and a distinct belgian style yeastiness. It has that tell tale earthy, chalky yeast smell with crisp lemony hops and light, almost skunky pilsner malts.

A: Very pale gold in color, dare I say...yellow? Stark white head, and slightly hazy. Decent head retention and sticky gobs of lacing all over the sides of the glass.

S: Pilsner malts, a bit of an lemony hoppy profile, but it has faded a little bit, still smells nice. A faint alcohol burn in the nose, but its pretty small.

T: For a simple beer, this has a ton of great flavors. Nice pale malts provide a smooth base and the spicy/lemon profile of the Saaz hops add to the flavor as well. Not a huge amount of bitterness but enough to keep what seems to be a big malt profile at bay. Just a hint of alcohol in the taste. A few odd esters in there for a true pilsner, but they add to the flavor nicely.

D: This is a damn tasty beer, the nose is a little lacking and that might be due to age, but still the flavor is great. The light crisp body and refreshing dryness make this very easy to drink. The alcohol warmth is present and slows me down a little, though. Still a nice beer. Very well done, especially for a style that I'm not generally a fan of. This one is done right.

Aroma is a bit light for what most other Imperial Pils may offer, but what is there is a nice blend to some obvious Belgian yeastyness that grabs the idea of a good Belgian Pale. Pretty high on the zesty peel aspect of lemon and some white grapefruit. Floral spices add some spike to it. Could be bolder on both malt and hops though. This seems almost all Golden/Pale Belgian?

Taste is bit light as well. Missing some malt girth and richer, thicker body. Again, more Belgian sided and a bit light with a good dance to some yeasty floralness and spice. But where's the Pilsner side? There's a smidgeon of Saaz in there and some Pale malt dryness and even lighter doughyness. But this comes across for more like a Belgian then a Imp. Pils. Seemingly simple, which is fine, I get the collaboration idea and its a good one, but its not coming across so well in the end result for me.

Body is a lighter medium without much depth. Has a nice sweetness playing underneath as it warms which helps gain some malty weight. Stays mostly floral and dry and stays fairly clean with a certain Belgain zip and flare on the palate that is quite nice. Just lighter then most Imp. Pils. Definately serve warm; recommended around 45 to 40.

Hmmm...wonder if they would've went with calling this a Belgian Pale instead would help me get by the fact that its nothing like the Imperial Pilsner its been labled. Cuz this is nothing like them. Don't get me wrong, this is still a pretty damn good brew and enjoyably drinkable with a simple sublte play of light sweetness and floral dryness.

Appearance is hazy, not exactly what one would expect from a pilsner. Smell and taste are excellent for the style with a prominent Saaz hop profile drying out the finish. Mouthfeel is good. It goes down very easily, maybe a little too easily with the 8% abv. It is easily the best Imperial Pilsner I've had yet.

Grain on the nose. Expecting alcohol, but you really just get classic pilsner.

A very surprising beer. A really well rounded pilsner. More full bodied than you'd get in a normal pils, a wider range of flavour to the malt. Hopping isn't quite as grassy as I like in a pils, but the continental flavour is certainly there. Nice crisp finish.

T. I hate Imperial Pilsners... but THIS is the first one I've enjoyed. It really does taste like a more malty, perfectly attenuated and hopped German pilsner. Totally refreshing, even at 8%, the hoppy bitterness lets you down gently and fades slowly in the finish ,the malt is sweet in all the right places and the yeast has done great work here, drying it out enough to be "just right". I don't know how you could improve on this beer given the ingredients. Really, truly great.

M / D. Think of your favorite Pils, then just big it up a little. Medium body, fine, snappy carbonation, long Noble hop bitter and sweet pale finish falls down slowly. Yes, you could easily drink a whole 750.

This is the best Imperial Pilsner I've had by a long shot, and a delightful beer all around. The Boulevard magic is in full force here, paired with the Orval juju, this is making a believer of me out of a previously disliked style. These brewers get it. Try this beer!